Crying babies are the source of great frustration for adults, particularly for their parents. Because they cannot speak, infants cry as their primary means of communication and they do it with great frequency. Babies cry as a means to communicate that they are in pain, unhappy, tired, hungry or generally in need of attention. Sometimes babies cry to block external stimuli in an attempt to calm down. Regardless of the reason, crying is disturbing and gets the attention of those within earshot.
Caregivers are adept at developing strategies for soothing crying babies. These generally involve holding the infant firmly in the arms and bouncing or rocking. Babies train caregivers to hold them in their preferred orientations and angles as well as to move them in their preferred motion. Commonly the only soothing position for babies is to be held vertically against the chest. Often the time required to soothe is long and difficult, straining the caregiver to exhaustion.
There are known devices that attempt to soothe an infant but they have limitations and drawbacks. For example, there is a static device which only positions babies in an inclined position without enabling movement of the device. However, the movement is key to assuaging babies. Moreover, restricting the orientation to an inclined angle of 30 or 45 degrees is limiting in terms of the variety of babies who can be soothed. Another conventional device is similar in that it does not move. In addition, the inclined angle does not adjust. Moreover, the device is designed for a “face out” positioning only. This positioning does not effectively soothe the population of babies that require a “face in” position. Other devices provide a dismountable and adjustable fastening device for laying down pediatric patients in an inclined position, but are also static devices which means the beneficial effects of motion are not available to babies who are put into them. They are designed to help babies who suffer from illnesses where the effects of gravity contribute to making them feel better (e.g. gastroesophageal reflux), but they do not address the issue of calming babies who are crying for other reasons. Finally, the angle of the devices is not adjustable.
Thus, it is desirable to provide an infant soothing device that overcomes the limitations of the conventional devices and it is to this end that the present invention is directed.